Sexual assault affects every culture and race. As the diversity of our nation grows, so do the needs of sexual assault survivors. This presents additional challenges for sexual assault response teams especially when the needs far surpass the available resources. The SART members all serve critical functions in supporting a victim from trauma to trial. In order to be culturally competent, a response team should not only include members of all persons that will come into contact with a victim, but also make sure that those individuals represent the communities being served. SART members should also be aware of the relationship between culture and trauma response.

Language: If not all SART members are bilingual; make sure to have an interpreter ready to assist throughout the process. Remember to consider country of origin, acculturation level, and dialect issues. Example: A college-educated SART member of Cuban origin may still encounter language and trust obstacles when trying to work with a Mexican survivor from rural Mexico.

Additional Considerations for each SART Member Group

Nurses - Rape Crisis Advocate/Counselor - Social Workers The Rape Exam may be especially traumatizing for some survivors of color who are virgins or have never had a gynecological exam, as is the case for many rural immigrants, and survivors on fixed incomes who cannot afford preventive care. Language is key for establishing safety and trust, both for primary as well as secondary survivors.

Special attention should be taken to address the needs of secondary survivors, as they may directly impact the survivor's healing. For those family members who place a high importance on virginity, one way to approach this issue is to remind parents, boyfriends, and family members that virginity cannot be taken, it can only be given. No matter the physical condition of the survivor, she is still spiritually and psychologically a virgin, for this was not a sexual act but an act of violence.

Medical Director & Medical Center/Hospital Representation Make sure to also include representatives from small community clinics.

Law Enforcement & Legal Representation It is crucial that those who represent law enforcement also be aware of and committed to change their station's possible negative reputation within communities of color. The police representative should be aware of how ongoing critical incidents and suspicions of abuse of authority may impact how the affected community perceives them.

It is also imperative for law enforcement to separate itself from INS. The perception of many immigrant survivors of crime is that the police and INS are one in the same - WHICH THEY ARE NOT.

Immigrant advocacy groups should be contacted for SART training and participation.

Religious Support Try to assure interdenominational representation by those who have been trained on sexual assault issues.

Acknowledge, validate, train and include the other spiritual advisers who reside in the Latino different communities such as Curanderas and Espiritistas

Community Support Include other community leaders on the SART such as Promotoras; outreach advocates who promote the health and well being of their communities. Their capacity as agents of change is especially great in marginalized neighborhoods such as the Colonias along the border.

Because of fear of deportation and lack of knowledge of their rights, many immigrant women suffer sexual assault, sexual exploitation and ongoing sexual harassment by perpetrators who view them as easy prey. Unfamiliarity with the English language, with its limitless supply of pop culture jargon may also make it difficult for immigrant women to even know when they are being verbally degraded by co-workers.

For many Spanish monolingual and limited English-speaking workers along the border, Quid Pro Quo, salary "adjustments," and constant verbal and physical sexual harassment are commonplace.

Types of Sexual Harassment Suffered by Latinas

Verbal Harassment - Female employees are called racist and sexually vulgar names. References are made to body parts and sexual acts in a very hostile atmosphere. Managers "dare" female employees to report or threaten to fire them if they report sexual harassment.

Physical Sexual Harassment - Women report being fondled (breasts and buttocks touched) by male employees at the dishwasher line at a major cafeteria chain.

Victim blaming is not unique to any one particular culture. It is universal; it serves the purpose of rationalizing and shifting the blame from perpetrator to victim, and is intended to minimize the effects of sexual violence. Each culture has its own set of victim-blaming messages that may affect individuals to differing degrees. Latin@ culture is no exception. In offering the following information our intent is not to generalize or presume that all Latin@s hold these beliefs or assumptions. It is meant to help broaden the advocate and counselor's awareness of possible primary survivor internalized messages and secondary survivor attitudes that may impact a Latina survivor's healing process.

"The girl who starts her period before age 13 will be promiscuous." (A temptress)

"She already weighs 40 kilos." (88 pounds is the weight associated with children 10 - 12 years of age) This is a reference to the weight of a girl as presumed evidence of sexual maturity and justification of sex with underage girls.

"Girls are flirts and they can seduce older men."

"Women tease and tempt men."

"A man is not always responsible for what he does if the devil or alcohol gets in him." "Diablo" a popular song by Los Fugitivos released in 1994 reinforces this idea.

"The sexually experienced woman is a whore, she cannot be raped."

"Men cannot control themselves once aroused, be careful not to tempt them. The lyrics of a Salsa song released in 1999 by Adalberto Álvarez y su Son "Si no vas a cocinar…" reinforces this idea: "¿Si no vas a cocinar mamá pa que tu enciendes la candela?…Estás jugando con fuego y un día te vas a quemar"

Translation: If you are not going to cook mama, why do you turn on the fire?…You are playing with fire and one day you will get burned"

Cultural fatalism appears to be strongly related to socioeconomic class and ethnic identity. The greater the sense of being marginalized - the less control one feels. Ross, Mirowsky, and Cockerham (1983)

Possible Latina Survivor Responses "Es una prueba de Dios" (This is a test from God.) "It was God's will, this happened to me for a reason." "It's my fault"

Emphasis on Virginity In many Latino communities, if a woman or girl loses her virginity to rape, incest, or molestation, her sexual status is equated with that of a single "promiscuous" woman.

Special attention should be taken to address the needs of survivors who come from families that place a high importance on virginity, and have lost their virginity through rape. It is important to emphasize that virginity cannot be taken; it can only be given. No matter the physical condition of the survivor, she is still spiritually and psychologically a virgin, for this was not a sexual act but an act of violence.